Tiny Chinese village pours millions into vast seven-floor office for just eight government workers

Barely three months after China Imposed a strict ban on all new government buildings, a tiny village in the central province of Hunan has erected the latest in a series of ostentatious Communist party palaces.

There are only five government officials in the village of Yungai, on the outskirts of the city of Changsha. Then there are two secretaries and a university graduate who helps out.

But that has not stopped the village borrowing a reported 15 million yuan (£1.5 million) to build a seven-floor building that towers over the rest of town.

In recent years, it has become common practice for any local government in China with a shred of self-respect to build itself the largest possible office.

Replicas of the White House, or of Washington DC's Capitol building, have become popular. In the eastern city of Fuyang, officials spent 30 million yuan on such a headquarters.